Online Application
In the initial stage I was asked for my CV and asked some basic questions about my motivations for applying.
How to respond for success
I pointed out why I wanted to work in consulting and the experience I already had in that. I think my placement year at Deloitte made a huge difference not just because of the name but because consulting is a weird way of working and not for everyone so questions definitely tend to focus on why you want to work in consulting. By having Deloitte I had demonstrable evidence of why I would be a good fit!
Expect a 2-4 month wait wait before progressing to the next stage.
Assessment Centre
The assessment centre was made up of 3 key stages.
There was a group task, where we were asked to come up with an idea for IOT, we chose a smart office that had integrated security, lights, heating ect. This stage took around 50 minutes.
Following this there was an individual task set. In this, you’re given a situation of business, mine was that a project had been priced way under and we needed to inform the client of correct pricing. You’re given different emails to email to show how you’d approach this if it was a real life project.
Finally there was an interview which lasted around an hour. Mine was very casual with a guy I now work with. He wasn’t technical, which was strange considering I am a tech grad but I later found its because as long as you have a passion and willingness to learn they’ll take technical grads without any prior experience in coding/technology, which I think is really cool. Again a lot questions focussed on ‘why consulting’ and also around the CGI values. They definitely hire more based on the type of person and their personality than what their actual skills are. They want really passionate people with a good willingness to learn but also that have a fairly laidback personality. I prepped by looking at the CGI values and cool projects that they’ve done and how I could add value to those.
How to respond for success
For the group task, I took a leadership role which was noted on my feedback but I tried to be conscious of not taking over. I had the most experience in tech so actually knew stuff around IoT which helped. I think what made me stand out was that I brought good ideas to the team and structured the presentation. I wore very smart dress but it was over teams.
For the individual task, I didn't prep but having worked in professional services before I knew how to approach clients and what the correct way to structure an email and sound professional were. If you haven't worked in an environment like this before, be sure to look at examples online.
In the final interview, my top advice would be to be passionate about technology and also know why you want to work in consulting. These were the key points really, anything else CGI can teach you. Be authentic as CGI thrives off good people who work fairly harmoniously, it's not as internally competitive as other consultancies and team work is at its core. Definitely look at the CGI values.
Expect up to a 1 week wait before receiving an offer.
Assessment Centre
The assessment centre was made up of 3 key stages.
There was a group task, where we were asked to come up with an idea for IOT, we chose a smart office that had integrated security, lights, heating ect. This stage took around 50 minutes.
Following this there was an individual task set. In this, you’re given a situation of business, mine was that a project had been priced way under and we needed to inform the client of correct pricing. You’re given different emails to email to show how you’d approach this if it was a real life project.
Finally there was an interview which lasted around an hour. Mine was very casual with a guy I now work with. He wasn’t technical, which was strange considering I am a tech grad but I later found its because as long as you have a passion and willingness to learn they’ll take technical grads without any prior experience in coding/technology, which I think is really cool. Again a lot questions focussed on ‘why consulting’ and also around the CGI values. They definitely hire more based on the type of person and their personality than what their actual skills are. They want really passionate people with a good willingness to learn but also that have a fairly laidback personality. I prepped by looking at the CGI values and cool projects that they’ve done and how I could add value to those.
How to respond for success
For the group task, I took a leadership role which was noted on my feedback but I tried to be conscious of not taking over. I had the most experience in tech so actually knew stuff around IoT which helped. I think what made me stand out was that I brought good ideas to the team and structured the presentation. I wore very smart dress but it was over teams.
For the individual task, I didn't prep but having worked in professional services before I knew how to approach clients and what the correct way to structure an email and sound professional were. If you haven't worked in an environment like this before, be sure to look at examples online.
In the final interview, my top advice would be to be passionate about technology and also know why you want to work in consulting. These were the key points really, anything else CGI can teach you. Be authentic as CGI thrives off good people who work fairly harmoniously, it's not as internally competitive as other consultancies and team work is at its core. Definitely look at the CGI values.
